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MABEY ASSIGNMENTS/RESOURCES:
US History Research Paper (under construction)
Books
Getting Started on Your Research Project
will guide you through the
process of finding books with information on your topic.
Databases
The best place to start your online research may be a subscription
database. Search results can vary from short, introductory entries on
your topic to in-depth, scholarly articles. Databases to try include:
American
Heritage Magazine
A history publication with issues dating back to 1954 maintained in
the reference section of the Conard Library.
Search for your topic in the index volume that can be found, along with
the magazines at
REF 973.AME.
Primary Sources
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The library has extensive collections of primary documents from American history. Find them by searching Athena with such terms as: sources or eyewitness or documents or oral history or personal narrative - combined with keywords that relate to your topic. (e.g. Vietnam and "personal narrative", Holocaust and eyewitness, "Great Depression" and sources).
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The reference section contains several major collections of the most important documents from American History. They include the titles listed below and many others that may be found using the terms given above.
The Annals of America REF 973 ANN
Documents of American History REF 973 COM
100 key documents in American democracy REF 973 ONE
Terrorism: A documentary history REF 303.625 TER
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Call numbers that begins with PI refer to special kits of primary source materials - actual facsimiles of the original documents - related to many American history topics.The librarians can show you where they are.
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Databases to search: History Resource Center: U.S. , Annals of American History Online, Historical Hartford Courant, and through the West Hartford Public Library, The Historical New York Times.
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Websites: Library of Congress - American Memory Collection , The National Archives ,
AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History , Connecticut History Online , more to come.
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LIFE Magazine Collection - popular culture in America from 1955 through 1998.
Current Issue Presentation
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Use Athena to find books on your topic. (Yes, they exist and many are very current!)
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Search the CQ Researcher database. Be aware of the publication date; some of your topics are affected by very recent developments.
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Search the InfoTrac Student Edition database in iConn for news reports on recent events or developments concerning your topic. Remember to:
- Use "quotes" around any phrase (such as "medical marijuana" or "NASA budget")
- Limit your search to "articles with full text"
- Consider limiting your search to dates later than the year 2000.
Civil Rights MVP Sources
BOOKS: Look in reference books on Civil Rights and African American
biography
Collective biographical reference is in REF 921; individuals biographies are in 921 or RR 921
For people in music, politics, sports, literature, use Athena.
Try music and REF, political
science and REF, etc. When
you find good results, be sure to browse
the same section for other relevant books, in reference &
non-reference.
DATABASES:
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Grolier Online http://go.grolier.com/
WEBSITES:
Use: http://www.nettrekker.com/subject/
The Presidents
Everything you need for this project can be found by:
Searching Athena for your president - Last name, First name.
Searching Athena for: Presidents and United States
Using the subscription databases such as:
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Grolier Online (click on Multimedia)
And in iConn: